2024

Guided bombs hit a car service station in Zaporizhzhia, killing 10 people, Governor Ivan Fedorov said, and a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv killed one and cut heating to 630 residential buildings, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. ^[1][2] Russia kept up strikes on the power system, with Zelensky saying 93 missiles and almost 200 drones were launched in one attack, and a Christmas morning strike seriously damaged DTEK thermal power plants. ^[1][3] A drone badly damaged an IAEA vehicle on its way to a staff rotation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which Zelensky said was Russian, and WHO recorded attacks on health facilities in places including Dnipro and Shostka. ^[1][2][3] Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's radiological, chemical and biological protection forces, was killed by a bomb in Moscow; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of terrorist methods, and anonymous SBU sources told CNN the service was behind it. ^[1] South Korea's intelligence service said at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in Kursk, while Zelensky put Ukrainian soldiers killed at 43,000 and Russia's defence minister claimed Ukraine had lost almost one million people. ^[1][2] The sides carried out a prisoner exchange that Moscow put at 150 for 150 and Kyiv said returned 189 Ukrainians, and the five-year gas transit deal expired, ending Russian gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. ^[1][2] In Europe, the Leiden dataset recorded damage to the Estlink 2 power cable by the tanker Eagle S, which Finland investigated. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

UNHCR said nearly 4 million people remained displaced inside Ukraine and 6.7 million abroad as the war neared 1,000 days, and that attacks had destroyed 65 percent of Ukraine's energy generation capacity. ^[1] Russia fired about 120 missiles and 90 drones at the power system in the largest attack in months, killing at least seven people, Ukrainian officials said, and a second mass strike later in the month left more than one million people without electricity in western Ukraine. ^[1][2] Regional authorities said a ballistic missile on an apartment block in Sumy killed 11 people, including two children, and the Odesa governor said a strike on Odesa killed 10, seven of them police officers. ^[1][2] After reports that Washington had eased limits, Russia said Ukraine fired six US-made ATACMS at Bryansk Oblast, and Bloomberg reported Ukraine used British Storm Shadow missiles in Kursk Oblast for the first time. ^[1][2] Russia then struck Dnipro with a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that Putin called Oreshnik, saying it was a response to Ukraine's use of US and British weapons, and he signed an updated nuclear doctrine. ^[1] A Ukrainian official said North Korean troops in Kursk Oblast had come under fire for the first time, a claim the Kyiv Independent could not verify. ^[1] In Europe, the Leiden dataset recorded undersea cable cuts in the Baltic linked to the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3 and interference in Romania's presidential election in favour of a candidate opposed to aid for Ukraine. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said footage showed 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war apparently shot after surrendering near Pokrovsk, and said it was investigating more than 50 similar cases. ^[1] WHO recorded attacks on health care in places including Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv and Pokrovsk Raion. ^[1][2][3] Ukraine withdrew from Vuhledar after more than two years of fighting to avoid encirclement, its Khortytsia group said, and Russia said it captured Selydove on the way to Pokrovsk. ^[1][3] In the Black Sea, a Russian missile hit a Panama-flagged container ship in Odesa port, killing eight according to the Odesa governor, and Reuters reported that war-risk premiums for Ukrainian ports rose to just over 1% of a vessel's value. ^[1][2] NATO's Mark Rutte said North Korean troops had been sent to Russia and deployed to Kursk, and South Korea's intelligence service reported more than 3,000 in Russia, which neither Moscow nor Pyongyang confirmed. ^[1] UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan and told him the invasion violated the UN Charter, while Kyiv objected to the visit. ^[1] The sides exchanged 95 prisoners of war each and swapped the remains of fallen soldiers, with Ukraine receiving 501 bodies and Russia 89, The Moscow Times reported. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Two ballistic missiles hit a military communications institute and a nearby hospital in Poltava, killing at least 51 people and injuring 219, according to Ukrainian prosecutors and regional authorities, in one of the deadliest single strikes of the war. ^[1] An overnight attack on Lviv killed seven civilians, including a mother and her three daughters, regional authorities and the mayor said, and ballistic missiles on Kharkiv injured at least 47 people. ^[1][2] Local authorities in Sumy said a repeat strike on a hospital during the evacuation of patients killed 10 people and injured 22, and WHO recorded attacks on health facilities in places including Sumy and Hlukhiv. ^[1][2][3] Russia claimed Memryk on the approach to Pokrovsk, where AFP reported more than half of the residents had fled, and began a counterattack on the western flank of the Ukrainian-held area in Kursk Oblast. ^[1][2] A drone strike set off large explosions at a missile and ammunition arsenal in Toropets, Tver Oblast, and 13 people were taken to hospital, the regional governor said. ^[1] As the US and UK foreign ministers visited Kyiv and Ukraine pressed to use Western missiles deeper inside Russia, Putin said such permission would mean NATO was at war with Russia and announced planned changes to the country's nuclear doctrine. ^[1] The sides exchanged 103 prisoners of war each, and in Europe the Leiden dataset recorded hoax bomb threats that closed hundreds of Czech schools, which Czechia blamed on Russia. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia's Kursk Oblast in the largest cross-border ground operation of the war, and the acting Kursk governor said about 121,000 people had left the border areas, with 180,000 subject to evacuation. ^[1][2] Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said troops held 1,150 square km and 82 settlements, while Russia's chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov had told Putin the advance was halted, a claim the Kyiv Independent could not verify. ^[1] In Donetsk Oblast, a strike on a supermarket in Kostiantynivka killed at least 14 people, according to the Prosecutor General's Office, and Pokrovsk authorities urged residents to evacuate as Russian forces advanced. ^[1][2] Russia launched more than 100 missiles and about 100 drones in one of the largest attacks on the energy system, causing nationwide power cuts and killing seven people, the State Emergency Service said. ^[1] Guided bombs on a Kharkiv apartment block and other districts killed at least seven and injured 97, local authorities said, and a missile strike on a Kramatorsk hotel killed a Reuters safety adviser. ^[1][2] A fire burned in a cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which each side blamed on the other and which the IAEA said did not affect nuclear safety, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi called the Kursk nuclear plant's closeness to the fighting extremely serious. ^[1][2] The two sides exchanged 115 prisoners each on Ukraine's Independence Day, including Russian conscripts captured in Kursk. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A daytime wave of Russian missiles struck Kyiv and other cities, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission verified at least 43 civilians killed, including five children, and 147 injured, saying it made July the deadliest month for civilians since October 2022. ^[1] The cause of the damage to Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital is disputed: the mission's head Danielle Bell said a direct hit by a Kh-101 missile was highly likely, while Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said it was a Ukrainian air defence missile. ^[1] Kyiv also faced its largest drone attack of the year, with about 11,500 people sheltering in metro stations, while WHO recorded attacks on health facilities in Kherson and elsewhere. ^[1][2] On the front, Russian forces took Prohres on the Pokrovsk axis, according to the mapping project DeepState, and Ukraine's southern command said most of its positions in Krynky on the Dnipro left bank were destroyed. ^[1][2] The Krasnodar governor said a drone attack on a ferry at Port Kavkaz killed one person, and Romania said fragments of a Russian drone landed on its territory across the Danube from Izmail. ^[1][2] A NATO summit called Ukraine's path to membership irreversible and set a 40 billion euro aid baseline, which Dmitry Medvedev answered by saying the path should end with the disappearance of Ukraine or NATO. ^[1] In Europe, incendiary parcels ignited at DHL facilities in Germany and the UK, incidents in which Russia was suspected, according to the Guardian as recorded by the Leiden dataset. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

An overnight strike on energy sites left the Dnipro hydroelectric station in critical condition and no longer generating, Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said, with at least 20 people reported injured across Ukraine. ^[1] WHO recorded attacks on health care in places including Kharkiv and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi. ^[1][2] Russian officials said a missile strike near a Sevastopol beach killed four people, including two minors, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed the US; the toll was not independently verified. ^[1] A peace summit in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited, ended with a communique signed by 78 countries, after Putin said Russia would cease fire only if Ukraine withdrew from four regions and gave up NATO membership, conditions Zelensky rejected as ultimatums. ^[1] The G7 agreed a 50 billion dollar loan backed by profits on frozen Russian assets, the US and Ukraine signed a 10-year security pact, and the EU formally opened accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. ^[1][2] Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a treaty with a mutual assistance clause in Pyongyang, and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov over strikes on Ukraine's power grid. ^[1][2] In Europe, the Leiden dataset recorded five coffins marked as French soldiers in Ukraine left near the Eiffel Tower and an attempted arson attack on buses in Prague that the Czech prime minister said Russia organised. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Russia opened a cross-border ground offensive into northern Kharkiv region toward Vovchansk, and Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported more than 10,500 people evacuated by 20 May, while OCHA said over 14,000 had fled six border communities. ^[1][2] In Kharkiv city, guided bombs hit a crowded DIY hypermarket, killing 19 people according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, and a missile strike on a printing house killed seven workers, the governor said. ^[1][2] A mass missile and drone strike hit power plants in six regions and put two hydroelectric plants out of service, and Ukraine introduced rolling blackouts from 15 May. ^[1] In Belgorod, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said the collapse of part of an apartment block killed at least 16 people, which Russia blamed on a Ukrainian missile fragment and a Ukrainian official rejected; the Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. ^[1] Russia announced drills to practise the use of tactical nuclear weapons, and Putin replaced Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu with the economist Andrei Belousov days after his inauguration. ^[1][2] US officials told Politico that President Biden had allowed Ukraine to use US weapons against targets in Russia near Kharkiv, and the two sides exchanged 75 prisoners of war each. ^[1][2] In Europe, the Leiden dataset recorded a fire that destroyed a large Warsaw shopping centre, which Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russians may have been behind, and a false report of Polish mobilisation planted on the national news agency after a hack. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said a missile strike on central Chernihiv killed 18 people and injured 78, and Odesa city council said a cluster-armed missile strike on Odesa killed seven. ^[1][2] Russian strikes on the power system continued, destroying the Trypilska thermal power plant, the main supplier to Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Cherkasy oblasts, and seriously damaging four DTEK plants later in the month; Zelensky said Ukraine had run out of air defence missiles to protect Trypilska. ^[1][2] The IAEA confirmed at least three direct drone strikes on reactor containment structures at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, without saying who launched them, and Ukraine's military intelligence denied involvement. ^[1] A missile snapped Kharkiv's television tower, WHO recorded attacks on health facilities in Kharkiv, and drones struck an industrial zone and refinery in Tatarstan more than 1,200 km from Ukraine. ^[1][2][3] Zelensky signed a new mobilisation law after lowering the draft age from 27 to 25, and after months of delay the US Congress passed and President Biden signed about 61 billion dollars in aid for Ukraine. ^[1][2] In Europe, the Leiden dataset recorded arrests in Germany over alleged spying on US bases and sabotage plans, and in Poland over an alleged plot to assassinate Zelensky. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Odesa was hit repeatedly: officials said a drone strike on an apartment building killed 12, including five children, and a repeat ballistic missile strike that hit rescuers killed 21 and injured at least 73, according to the Interior Ministry. ^[1][2] Russia launched its largest strike on Ukraine's energy system, which UN News said left more than 1.5 million people without power and killed at least five, hitting the Dnipro hydroelectric plant and cutting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant's last main power line for about five hours, according to the IAEA. ^[1] A second mass strike a week later damaged three DTEK thermal power plants and power stations and homes in 10 regions, according to DTEK and the Interior Ministry, while WHO recorded attacks on health facilities in places including Kharkiv and Vovchansk. ^[1][2][3] Ukraine's military intelligence said naval drones sank the patrol ship Sergey Kotov in the Kerch Strait, and drone attacks set fires at Russian refineries in Oryol and Kstovo, with no official claim from Kyiv. ^[1][2] Russia held its presidential election, which returned Putin for a fifth term, in occupied areas of Ukraine as well, which the UN called unacceptable, while Russian armed groups fighting for Ukraine claimed raids into Kursk and Belgorod regions. ^[1][2] Gunmen killed at least 143 people at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, Russian authorities said; Islamic State claimed the attack, and Russia's Investigative Committee alleged the attackers were paid from Ukraine, which Kyiv and its allies rejected. ^[1] In Europe, the Leiden dataset recorded a foiled plot to kill Rheinmetall's chief executive and arson attacks on a Ukraine-linked business in London and near Madrid. ^[1][2][3]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Kharkiv local authorities said a drone strike on a petrol station started a fire that killed seven people, including three children, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission put verified civilian deaths since February 2022 at 10,582, with 19,875 injured. ^[1][2][3] President Zelensky replaced commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi with Oleksandr Syrskyi, who days later said Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from Avdiivka to avoid encirclement as Russia claimed control of the town; Zelensky blamed a shortage of weapons and stalled US aid. ^[1][2] At sea, Ukraine's military intelligence said it sank the corvette Ivanovets and the landing ship Tsezar Kunikov off Crimea, losses Russia did not acknowledge in the sources opened. ^[1][2] Opposition politician Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison colony; US President Joe Biden said Putin was responsible, the Kremlin rejected the accusation, and the UN called for a full and transparent investigation. ^[1] EU leaders agreed a 50 billion euro Ukraine Facility after Hungary dropped its objection, and the US imposed sanctions on more than 500 targets to mark two years of the full-scale invasion. ^[1][2] Zelensky said about 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been officially recorded as killed, Russia's defence minister claimed Ukraine had lost 444,000 soldiers, and a Mediazona and Meduza estimate put Russian military dead at 75,000 or more. ^[3] French President Emmanuel Macron said sending troops to Ukraine could not be ruled out, and Putin warned in his address to parliament that Western support for Kyiv risked a nuclear conflict.

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

January opened with a large Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and Kharkiv that local officials said killed six people, and a second mass missile attack later in the month killed at least 12 and injured more than 80 nationwide, according to the Kyiv Independent. ^[1][2] Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin said Russian S-300 missiles killed 11 people in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, five of them children, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported 90 civilians killed and 421 injured in figures dated 3 January. ^[1][2][3] In Russian-held Donetsk, the Russian-installed official Denis Pushilin said shelling of a market killed at least 27 people and blamed Ukraine, which said it carried out no operations there; AFP could not verify the circumstances. ^[1] Russia said a military transport that crashed in Belgorod region carried 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and that Ukraine shot it down, a claim Putin repeated, while Ukrainian officials disputed that prisoners were aboard and the UN said it could not verify the reports. ^[1] The two sides still carried out two prisoner exchanges mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the first of which Ukrainian officials called the largest since the full-scale invasion, with 230 Ukrainians returned. ^[1][2] Ukrainian officials said their forces downed a Russian A-50 radar plane over the Sea of Azov, and drone attacks reached oil and gas terminals near St Petersburg and at Ust-Luga, which anonymous Ukrainian sources described as Ukrainian operations. ^[1][2] The UK signed a security cooperation agreement with Ukraine and pledged 2.5 billion pounds in military aid for 2024-25, the first of a series of such bilateral agreements. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.